As much as the National Hockey League, as a whole, is lauded for its parity, there are a small group of teams that have found their way into the postseason, and subsequently rolling towards the conference finals, in each of the last several years. One of those teams is obviously the Los Angeles Kings, who have taken home two of the last three Stanley Cup titles, with a Western Conference Finals appearance sandwiched between the two.
The Washington Capitals, who are looking like a very serious contender in the Eastern Conference, shut the Kings out on Tuesday night by a 4-0 count. It was just the latest display of offensive inefficiency for a Kings team that has become notorious for regular season inconsistency. That inconsistency has been especially prevalent in each of the last few years, right up until the Kings reach the playoffs.
That’s been their MO for the last few years. They coast through the regular season, they don’t do anything particularly well, and then they blow up and find massive success in the playoffs. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2011-12, they relied on Jonathan Quick to carry the load during the regular season before giving him some help down the playoff stretch. Last season, they made the playoffs as a no. 6 seed, just two points ahead of the seventh spot. So their mediocre play in the regular season shouldn’t come as any sort of real surprise.
However, this season could end up being quite a bit different for the defending Stanley Cup champions. With the calendar now having turned over to February, we’re beginning to approach the home stretch for the 2014-15 regular season. As of now, they’re sitting in 10th in the Western Conference, three points out of the eighth spot. The positive is that the Vancouver Canucks have struggled ahead of them, leaving that spot up for grabs, even with two games in hand over the Kings. The bad news is that the Minnesota Wild have found a groove, and also have 54 points, and the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche have both improved as the season has worn on, and both sit just a point back of the Kings.
There are going to be a number of teams battling it out for those last couple of playoff spots, assuming that the Winnipeg Jets continue their steady play and nail down that no. 6 seed (which isn’t necessarily a safe assumption). That could potentially leave six teams fighting for just a pair of spots, when you consider the Calgary Flames. Recent play indicates that the Wild could be a favorite to grab one of those. That’s a nightmarish scenario for the other teams in the running
At this point, though, you have to wonder if the Kings could be the team to actually sneak into the postseason with one of those spots. The Kings currently rank 20th in the league in offensive output per game, and their typically strong defense is just 13th in the league in goals-against per game. It is important to consider the fact that the Kings do have the ninth most shots per game, and are sixth-best in shots against. Their power play is also 12th in the league, though they do have one of the league’s worst penalty kill units. An additional positive is the fact that their Corsi For% ranks third in the league overall, so they’re certainly getting more shots toward the net than their opponents.
There are positives for this team. That’s especially evident with the general assumption that this team will somehow find their way into the postseason and make another deep run, a sentiment which is held by much of the hockey world. They get pucks to the net and do a decent enough job of suppressing shots. If they have enough things go their way, they’re a playoff team and what they’ve done in the past indicates a very dangerous one, at that.
However, it’s important to note the shortcomings of this Kings team. Their penalty kill is rather lackluster, and that’s an understatement. They may not have the offensive depth necessary to get them where they want to be. Jonathan Quick isn’t head-and-shoulders above the league like he was a few years ago. His save percentage is a meager .910. There is certainly cause for concern, as much as you can’t count this team out until they play the 82nd game.
